Troubleshooting

This section includes tips for troubleshooting the configuration of Collaboration Center in WebSphere Portal.

The Collaboration Center is included with WebSphere Portal Express Plus only.

 

People Finder portlet problems

Problems that surface when the People Finder portlet is deployed and used in the portal might be related to the configuration of the WebSphere Member Manager directory.

People Finder portlet does not work for anonymous users.

Enable session use for anonymous users. Perform the following steps:

  1. Edit the NavigatorService.properties file in the following location: 
    wp_root/shared/app/config/services

  2. Change the public.session property from false to true.

  3. Save the file.

  4. Restart the portal server.

Attribute_field_name was not found in the directory.

This problem occurs when either attributes or queries are defined in the configuration of the People Finder portlet that are not supported by the WebSphere Member Manager configuration in the portal. Users of the portlet see an embedded Help page, and when an administrator clicks the configuration (wrench) icon, this error text is displayed.

To correct the problem, in configuration mode:

  1. Open the Configuration Basics task, the Attributes and Display Formats table, to deselect the undefined attribute that was included as a People Finder field. (This is not necessary, but is recommended)

  2. Open each of the following configuration tasks and remove the queries and fields that correspond to the undefined attribute:

The portlet is unavailable.

The 'Portlet is unavailable' message can be caused by any one of the following conditions:

  • The People Finder portlet configuration cannot be read.

    If you have modified People Finder configuration using Configuration mode, restore the portlet to its default configuration. Follow these steps:

    • Launch the portal and log in as an administrative user.

    • Go to Portal Administration.

    • Under tasks for Portlets, click Manage Portlets.

    • From the list of portlets, select People Finder and then click Modify Parameters to display the Configure parameters and titles task.

    • In the list of parameters, scroll to find the Config_Complete parameter.

    • Delete the Config_Complete parameter by selecting the check box next to the Config_Complete parameter name and then clicking Delete. This deletes the entire parameter, not just the value specified for the parameter. Be sure to delete the parameter rather than simply clearing its value.

    • Restart Portal Server.

    • The portlet will now read the configuration specified in the default People Finder configuration xml file provided by Collaboration Center (PdirConfig/apPDirConfig.xml).

    If you have not yet configured the People Finder using Configuration mode, either the portlet cannot find the People Finder configuration file (PdirConfig/apPDirConfig.xml) or the file has become corrupted. In this case, first try to obtain more diagnostic information by enabling Debug Level logging and then try uninstalling and reinstalling the Collaboration Center components.

    If you need additional information, refer to the topics that address portal logs and troubleshooting.

People Finder shows no results, regardless of the search criteria entered.

If Quick Search and Advanced Search in the People Finder yield no results, the portal administrator should adjust the setting for the maximumsearchresults attribute in the ww.xml file to allow more search results. For more information, see Member Manager configuration.

The Organization View does not work properly.

If the Organization View for found people does not display properly, ensure that the Manager attribute in the people records of the People Finder directory is specified properly. The Manager attribute must use the DistinguishedName (dn), not the CommonName (cn) or other human-readable value, of a found person's manager. The DistinguishedName (dn) must be valid for all LDAP servers configured to work with Collaboration Center.

Odd-looking values appear in the Manager and Assistant fields.

The LDAP server probably stores the Manager and Assistant attribute values in DistinguishedName (dn) format, a type of unique identifier in LDAP. When, in the Configuration Basics task, you select the Manager and Assistant (or Secretary) attributes to appear as fields in the People Finder portlet, remember to select Other Person Link as the Display Format for these fields.

The Person Record or Organization View for a found person cannot be opened from a person link in another portlet.

The Lotus Collaborative Components (LCC) menu can be used from other portlets to display a found person's Person Record or Organizational View. But if the source portlet is using a different LDAP directory from the one being used by People Finder,

there might be no match if the personal identity attributes of the LDAP directories apply disparate name formats. To resolve this discrepancy between identity mismatches, you can use the ibm-awarenessPerson attribute to add a link from the PeopleFinder LDAP into another LDAP when person name attributes use different name formats to establish identity. For instance, if the Notes View portlet or the My Lotus Team Workplaces portlet uses a Domino LDAP Directory, the users in the Domino LDAP Directory are probably identified by their Domino DistinguishedNames format, cn=Scott Jones,ou=my_company. If, on the other hand, the People Finder portlet uses an LDAP directory other than Domino, that same person is recognized with a DistinguishedName (dn.) format that might be uid=ssmith,ou=hq,o=my_company. You can create a link between the two different LDAP directories by adding an attribute to Scott Jones' entry that you map to the ibm-awarenessPerson attribute in the WebSphere Member Manager schema in the portal.

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My Lotus Team Workplaces portlet problems

Problems with the My Lotus Team Workplaces portlet might be the result of faulty configuration of the QuickPlace server or the portlet.

My Lotus Team Workplaces portlet does not appear when first deployed.

If the My Lotus Team Workplaces portlet does not appear when you first deploy it, the QuickPlaceServlet might not be installed properly. To verify that the QuickPlaceServlet is installed properly and working, follow these steps:

Enter this URL in your browser:

http://<yourQuickPlaceServer.ibm.com>/servlet/QPServlet?actionType=69

The browser should return a message similar to the following:

QPServlet:LCS Build [Version][Date][WPS build stream]=[KS3224wa][0302.2600][5.0]
Posted Build
Use with QP3.0.1
SESSION
68=whoami
ActionType=6969&s=searchstring

If the message above (or similar) is not returned, review the procedure Adding the QuickPlaceServlet in the Collaboration section, the topic Installing Lotus QuickPlace.

Authentication to the QuickPlace server is challenged.

Authentication problems can be caused by one of the following problems:

  • SSO token sharing between Portal Server and the QuickPlace server is not working properly.

    To verify that the LTPA token for SSO on the QuickPlace server and on the WebSphere Application Server is working properly, you can add the following two parameters to the portlet configuration settings (Portal Administration - Manage Portlets - Modify parameters):

    $DNUsername: uid=<userID>/cn=<yourbaseDN>/dc=<yourdomain>/dc=com

    (Use forward slashes, instead of commas, to delimit the elements.)

    $Password: <password>

    Remember to delete these parameters when you have finished this test.

  • The <server_directory> node of the qpconfig.xml file incorrectly specifies the Domino LDAP schema.

    If you can log in without challenge from Portal Server or the QuickPlace server, but you are challenged when you log in first to the QuickPlace server and then to Portal Server, a problem exists within the <server_directory> node of the qpconfig.xml file.

    SSO will work correctly from Portal Server to the QuickPlace server, but will not work from the QuickPlace server to Portal Server if the qpconfig.xml file does not specify, or incorrectly specifies, the Domino LDAP schema.

    Verify the setting in <server_directory> of the qpconfig.xml file.

Ensure that adequate logging is enabled.

Take advantage of the logging features of both WebSphere Application Server and WebSphere Portal Server to provide comprehensive diagnostic tracing of problems. Refer to the Information Center topics in Administer your portal, System event logging.

PlacesForMember cannot be initialized.

If this error appears in the portlet,

PlacesForMember could not be initialized via QuickPlaceService

and includes the server hostname and user credentials, modify the configuration parameters shown in the error window and restart Application Server. Alternatively, you can reinstall the portlet. If you reinstall the portlet, remember to log in to the portal again.

If that same error appears in the portlet and the user credentials are valid for logging in to the QuickPlace server, make sure that at least one Team Workplace (QuickPlace) exists for the user in question.

If user ID is null, an authentication problem exists with the SSO token.

Refer to the topics that address portal authentication with single signon.

Portlet content is missing or questionable.

If, after you reinstall the portlet, the portlet is empty, try logging out and logging in again to the portal.

If the information displayed in the portlet is not synchronized with information on the QuickPlace server, click Refresh to clear the portlet cache.

Attribute values invalid according to the specified TLD

If the appserver-out.log reports this problem -

TWP=>doView cached Exception: JSPG0126E: Attribute value invalid according to the specified TLD

- verify that the latest Lotus Collaborative Components files are installed:

Make sure that you have installed (or updated) the latest version of the Lotus Collaborative Components files on both the WebSphere Application Server and the QuickPlace server:

  • The Collaborative Services Java archive, cs.jar

  • The People Awareness Sametime Links JavaScript file, pa_stlinks.js

  • The Person tag language definition file, people.tld

For file locations and other information, refer to the Collaboration reference topic that identifies the collaborative components installed with WebSphere Portal.

The Collaboration Center installation program looks for the latest version of these files, which come with WebSphere Portal. If Application Server or Portal Server does not have the latest version of these files, the Collaboration Center installation program installs them. Verify that the latest version of the Lotus Collaborative Components files are installed on Application Server and Portal Server and on the QuickPlace server.

To update the Lotus Collaborative Components files on both servers, remember to restart WebSphere Application Server and the QuickPlace server after you have updated files.

Server access denied.

If users of My Lotus Team Workplaces portlet see the following error -

QuickplaceConnection initPlace()

- and the QuickPlace server console displays this error -

Agent printing: get:NotesException! 4488 Server access denied.

- open the QuickPlace Server document and check the Security settings.

Make sure that the QuickPlace server name has been specified in both of the following fields:

  • Run restricted Java/Javascript/COM

  • Run unrestricted Java/Javascript/COM

QuickPlace connection errors block access to portlet.

If users of My Team Workplaces portlet see the following error -

Error.QuickplaceConnection initPlaces()

- any one of the following could be the cause of the problem:

If portlet users encounter other errors indicating that the connection to QuickPlace Server could not be established, any one of the following conditions might be the cause of this problem:

  • The QuickPlace server (for example, http://yourQuickPlaceServer.yourcompany.com:80) is not running.

    To correct this problem, restart the QuickPlace server. Verify that the portlet user can log in directly to QuickPlace from the same workstation used for launching the portal.

  • Single signon (SSO) is not set up properly.

    If single signon (SSO) is not set up properly and the HTTP connection to the portlet cannot be established, verify the configuration parameters of the portlet. Check to see whether you can log in directly to QuickPlace from the same workstation used for launching the portal.

  • The portlet user cannot log in to the QuickPlace server because his or her portal user ID is not recognized by the QuickPlace server. Make sure that the portlet user has an account for the QuickPlace server. Users of the My Team Workplaces portlet need to be authenticated users of the QuickPlace server.

No team workplaces displayed in portlet.

If portlet users do not see a list of their team workplaces (My Workplaces) in the default view of the My Lotus Team Workplaces portlet, they should encounter the message that indicates that they do not yet belong to any workplaces. When they join one or more workplaces, the workplaces to which they belong will appear in the My Workplaces list.

To correct this problem, make sure that you have added users to the membership lists of existing QuickPlaces. Alternatively, create new QuickPlaces and add the new members using correct user IDs.

Other reasons why portlet users might not see a list of their workplaces can include any one of the following:

  • SSO is not set up properly on the QuickPlace server. Specifically, the wrong SSO key might be in use or a backslash might be omitted from the LDAP server port ID parameter when the SSO key is regenerated and imported for use on the QuickPlace server.

    The imported SSO key on the QuickPlace server must match the SSO key generated and exported from the WebSphere Application Server. Check the SSO settings in the WebSphere Application Server Security Center and on the QuickPlace server to ensure that the SSO token you regenerated and exported from the Application Server Security Center is the same one you imported for use with the QuickPlace server.

    Check to see that the external LDAP path of the Web Configuration document in which the WebSphere Application Server SSO key has been imported has no missing backslash at the beginning of the colon in the LDAP port ID parameter.

  • Security settings in the QuickPlace Server document are not correct. If the Security settings of the QuickPlace Server are not correct, the QuickPlaceServlet from the Lotus Collaborative Components cs.jar will not work. Consequently, QuickPlace members will not be recognized and authenticated by the QuickPlace server.

    Make sure that the certifier suffix for users (for example,. */cn=users/dc=yourcompany/dc=com) is allowed to run both "Run restricted Java/Javascript/COM" and "Run unrestricted Java/Javascript/COM".

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Lotus Web Conferencing portlet problems

Problems with the Lotus Web Conferencing portlet might be the result of faulty configuration of the Sametime server or the portlet.

Cache properties affect portlet performance.

The Collaboration Center installation program sets the LotusMeetings caching properties used by the Web Conferencing portlet. You might need to verify that the default settings for cache properties are correct. You might also want to modify the cache settings to improve portlet performance.

To view or modify LotusMeetings cache properties, follow these steps:

  1. Open the file wp_root/shared/app/config/services/CacheManagerService.properties.

  2. Verify that the following lines appear with the default values shown here: 
    # LotusMeetingsProperties cache properties
    cache.LotusMeetingsProperties.enabled=true
    cache.LotusMeetingsProperties.lifetime= 2592000
    cache.LotusMeetingsProperties.size=10000
    cache.LotusMeetingsProperties.replacement=moderate
    cache.LotusMeetingsProperties.admit-threshold=0

  3. Add these lines if you do not see them in the CacheManagerService.properties files.

  4. If necessary, edit the default values to boost the performance of the portlet.

  5. Remember to restart Portal Server if you have edited the cache properties.

    Portal Server must be restarted for changes to take effect.

You can also adjust the setting of the cache.lifetime.in.seconds property in the LotusWebConferencingUI.properties file. By default, this setting causes the portlet to check the Sametime server approximately every half hour (2000 seconds) to see if any new meetings have been scheduled. For a very active Sametime server, one that hosts a high volume of meetings, you might need to decrease this number for more frequent checks. For a less active Sametime server, one that hosts fewer meetings, you might need to increase this number for infrequent checks.

To adjust the cache.lifetime.in.seconds property, follow these steps:

  1. Open the LotusWebConferencingUI.properties file in a text editor.

  2. Scroll to the comment line: 
    # DO NOT TRANSLATE ANY OF THE MESSAGES BELOW THIS POINT

  3. After that comment line, find the cache.lifetime.in.seconds property: 
    # How often to update the cache (2000 seconds = approx 1/2 hour)
    # For 1000 meetings on the ST server
    # it takes 1000-2000 seconds to retrieve all meeting properties
    cache.lifetime.in.seconds = 2000

  4. Edit the variable as needed to set the frequency of checks that the Web Conferencing portlet makes against the Sametime server that hosts meetings.

  5. Save and close the LotusWebConferencingUI.properties file.

  6. Restart Portal Server for the changes to take effect.

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Web Conferencing portlet does not respond immediately when first deployed in the portal.

The first time you deploy the Web Conferencing portlet in the portal, the portlet needs to load all of the meeting information from the Sametime server. This process takes approximately 1 to 2 seconds for each meeting hosted on the Sametime server. Therefore, when the portlet is installed in the portal and added to a page of the portal, it will not respond immediately. The amount of time needed before the portlet responds in a portal page depends on the number of meetings hosted on the Sametime server. For example, if there are 1,000 meetings hosted on the Sametime server, expect the Web Conferencing portlet to take approximately 30 minutes to load. If you have configured multiple Sametime servers using clustering to balance workload, this wait time will be reduced.

Searching for a meeting yields no results.

If portlet users do not see meetings displayed in the portlet after a significant period of time, check the following requirements and conditions:

  • The Sametime server must be up and running.

  • The Sametime server must have Service Pack 1 installed. You might also need to apply certain hotfixes.

  • The PurgeMeetings agent should be enabled on the Sametime server, as described in the configuration prerequisites for the Web Conferencing portlet.

  • From the portal, you should be able to log in to the Sametime server specified in the portlet configuration parameter SametimeServerX as an administrator with the same user name and password specified in the SametimeUserNameX and SametimePasswordX portlet configuration parameters.

  • The values specified for the portlet configuration parameters SametimeSSLX and SametimePortX must be correct.

Authentication to Sametime Meeting Center is challenged.

If users of the Web Conferencing portlet are prompted for their credentials (user name and password combinations) when they try to access the Sametime Meeting Center, verify that SSO is enabled properly between the portal and the Sametime server.

If the SSO token is not being shared properly between Portal Server and the Sametime server, portlet users might be re-challenged for their credentials when using the Web Conferencing portlet in the following contexts:

  • Attending a meeting

  • Testing a meeting

  • Replaying a meeting

  • Accessing the Sametime Meeting Center

To verify that SSO is working properly between Portal Server and the Sametime server, follow these steps:

  1. Launch your browser and log in to the portal with your user name and password.

    Example: http://<yourPortalServer.yourDomain.com>/wps/portal

  2. In the same browser session, type the URL for your Sametime server.

    Example: http://<yourSametimeServer.yourDomain.com>/names.nsf

  3. If you are not prompted to log in to the Sametime server, the SSO token is working properly.

    If you are prompted to log in to the Sametime server, the SSO token is not working correctly.

    Refer to the topics that address portal authentication with single signon.

Attachments do not appear in Meeting Details view.

If portlet users cannot see attached files associated with a meeting, verify that the Sametime server is installed with both the Sametime 3.0 Service Pack 1 (SP1) and any necessary hotfixes that correct this problem.

Poor performance hinders portlet use.

If users of the Web Conferencing portlet report negative changes in portlet performance, check the cache properties of the portlet and the Sametime Meeting agents that control performance factors.

Check portlet UI properties if display problems occur.

If the Web Conferencing portlet does not display properly, you can check the LotusWeb ConferencingUI.properties file to see the default UI settings and the location of JSPs that render the views of the portlet. You will also need to know the location of the portlet JSPs if you intend to customize the portlet.

To verify and edit the default settings of the LotusWebConferencingUI.properties file, follow these steps:

  1. Open the LotusWebConferencingUI.properties file in a text editor.

  2. Scroll to the comment line: 
    # DO NOT TRANSLATE ANY OF THE MESSAGES BELOW THIS POINT

  3. After that comment line, find the following properties to verify and edit, if necessary:

    You can change the path to a JSP that renders a main view of the portlet:

    #Main JSPs 
    ResultURI = /jsp/html/ViewResult.jsp
    DetailURI = /jsp/html/ViewDetail.jsp
    NewMeetingURI = /jsp/html/ViewNewMeeting.jsp
    EditMeetingURI = /jsp/html/ViewNewMeeting.jsp
    EditURI = /jsp/html/Edit.jsp
    ConfigureURI = /jsp/html/Configure.jsp
    ErrorURI = /jsp/html/Error.jsp
    MessageURI = /jsp/html/ViewMessage.jsp

    You can change the path of a JSP that renders a particular element of a view:

    #JSP location
    jsp.detail = /jsp/html/Detail.jsp
    jsp.menu = /jsp/html/Menu.jsp
    jsp.list = /jsp/html/List.jsp
    jsp.search = /jsp/html/Search.jsp
    jsp.menu.list= /jsp/html/ListMenu.jsp
    jsp.menu.top.list = /jsp/html/ListMenuTop.jsp
    jsp.newMeeting = /jsp/html/NewMeeting.jsp
    jsp.menu.edit = /jsp/html/EditMenu.jsp
    jsp.menu.newMeeting = /jsp/html/NewMeetingMenu.jsp
    jsp.menu.detail = /jsp/html/DetailMenu.jsp
    jsp.menu.search = /jsp/html/SearchMenu.jsp
    jsp.message = /jsp/html/Message.jsp
    jsp.menu.message = /jsp/html/MessageMenu.jsp

    You can change the path of a JSP that renders the images used by the portlet:

    # Image locations
    image.go = /images/go
    image.back = /images/close
    image.back.small = /images/lt-an-canceliconsmall	
    image.next = /images/next
    image.previous = /images/previous
    image.save = /images/register
    image.error = /images/error
    image.divider = /images/divider
    image.dot = /images/dot
    image.attachment = /images/attachment
    image.new.meeting = /images/add
    image.advanced.meeting = /images/meetingcenter
    image.test.meeting = /images/lt-an-testmtgicon
    image.edit.meeting = /images/edit
    image.delete.meeting = /images/delete
    image.information = /images/inlineHelp
    image.reset = /images/reset

    You can change the properties that specify the Sametime server port ID and the enablement of Secure Sockets Layer (SSL):

    # Default port and SSL values
    default.st.port = 80
    default.st.useSSL = no

  4. Edit the properties as needed.

  5. Save and close the LotusWebConferencingUI.properties file.

  6. Restart the portal server for the changes to take effect.

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See also